NUTS Challenge: winter 2014

The Nuts Challenge had been on my race agenda for almost a year having seen the great Jonathan Albon fail to complete the four-lap course in 2013 due to hypothermia. The 28 km version of this Obstacle-Course Race had seen only six finishers in 2013, yet almost 250 would enter in 2014.

In terms of race duration, this would not be far off a Half-Ironman triathlon. Nutrition was really important to consider and I had a good supply of hot energy drink, coffee and cliff bars and gels. However clothing was even more vital to get right. I went for a neoprene rash vest, neoprene wetsuit shorts, a merino wool top, race top, compression tights, waterproof socks, merino socks, race buff and inov-8 x-talon 190 shoes.

The Nuts Challenge is one of those races that gets it just right. No matter what the weather throws at it, Wayne does an immense job to get the site ready, and safe! Thousands take on the course over the entire weekend and I believe, for the first time, Wayne could comment that not one ambulance had been needed. Perhaps that says a lot about what entrants should expect. No matter what Jon had told me in advance, you could not be prepared for what was to come. This was despite having been on a training day there a few weeks earlier.

The favourites for the 28km race included Sam Cherry, Ross Phelan and James Appleton. Hot favourites for both races were however my new team-mates at inov-8 OCR, Jonathan Albon and Clare Miller.

The first lap started, as expected, very fast. I felt very hot in all my neoprene and layers so I just hoped that I had not over prepared and worn too much. I was looking forward to getting into some water! Jon took it up at the front, as we all now expect him to do so, whilst I settled into around fifth place, quite happy to concentrating on finishing rather than racing at this early stage. Sam was up in second whilst James was taking the same approach as me a few places behind.

The 7km lap includes several 500 metre sections that you can run without objects, a few of which involve uphill wooded sections that sap the energy. The rest of the course includes all manner of obstacles including cargo nets, tyre climbs, rope descents and many, many obstcales that require traversing, climbing and ducking. The hardest thing was not however the obstacles, for a change. The thick, sticky mud covered half the course, including a kilometre section of mudmounds that completely destroyed my quads on each lap. The descents and slide were the only enjoyable bits of this section as I could sit on my ass and slide. There was also a great deal of wading through cold water, which was where my layers of clothing helped a great deal.

After two laps of this Jon was several minutes ahead whilst Sam was a couple of minutes ahead of me in second. I had moved into third place, with no idea of the number of people who would make it no further than two laps. I was feeling okay in terms of warmth and energy, but my quads were in pain. My pacing strategy was working well.

On lap three I passed Sam, who was also passed by James as we took up second and third places. Sam had pushed himself to a dark place but still amazingly finished in fourth. Passing people on the one-lap race, as well as lapping people, was actually really useful as you cheer each other on and you find yourself running at a very similar pace to them, as you tell them that there really is no need to get out of your way.

Once on the last lap I was always going to finish and a cup of tea from team mate David Hellard (who had retired) got me going for the final lap. Jon was too far ahead to comprehend catching so I was just concentrating on keeping myself moving at a half decent speed. My biggest problem now became getting gritty, shitty mud in my eyes and not being able to see where I was going. Wiping your eyes with mud-covered gloves and splashing them with muddy water was not the correct way to resolve this, but it was my only option at the time.

Everyone looked broken on the final lap, although Jon did his usual fantastic job and finished in 3.47 hours. I came in in 4.03 hours for an inov-8 1,2 whilst James came in at 4.12 hours. As her first OCR, in these challenging conditions, Clare not only finished but came in at 4.36 hours. Of only 17 finishers, Clare was the only person to run her last lap faster than her third lap.

The general trend was to get progressively slower during the race, as the course became harder due to the mud as well as us all getting more tired. Jon was 14 minutes slower on his final lap than his first, whilst I was 15 slower. Not even the most perfect pacing would help in such an event.

The inov-8 team cuddled up in our Dryrobes post race, trying to stay warm until we could get to the pub. Everyone that finished even one-lap deserved a big pat on the back but to those 17 that completed the full four, including myself, you had to have a real determiniation and strong-will to get through.

Rock Solid Race in Exeter is next up for the inov-8 OCR team, followed by races run by Judgment Day, Dirty Dozen and Rat Race. I am looking forward to all of these, especially as they now all have such good reputations to live up to.

Between these races I continue to train and race for TriTrainingHarder and have duathlons and the British Sprint Triathlon Championships to look forward to, as well as several long-distance triathlons at the Castle Triathlon Series, racing on my Cervelo and in my Champion Sytem race-kit and HUUB wetsuit. Check out page 20 of April’s 220 magazine for a feature on yours truly.

Somehow, I have managed to mention each team, sponsor and race I am doing in one blog. Well done me!

As always, any questions or complaints should be lodged with my PA (and girlfriend) Gemma Shorter.